Good is a nice word; better is a thing everyone is supposed to strive to be. It still baffles me why those friends of mine stop trying to be better and are heading into nowhere. Who can tell me why?

The magic of home gives you a strong sense of belonging and security. Anywhere you go and anything you do, the magic will bless you. Under its spell, you can always start afresh after you have tried but failed.

Nothing too much, lad. You are such a cute boy. The ride is free.

No one is perfect. Father is just a human. He has weaknesses and has made unjustifiable mistakes, but despite everything he is not fake. He is still my hero.

The meeting with Tom helped me to reflect upon my own life. In some ways he has done much better than me, even though I do not have to worry about money problems and I live in a loving family.

This weekend I made a phone call to my grandpa, in which I told him that I will not go back home this year. Though he sounded a bit down at first, he encouraged me and promised to pray for me at the village temple. I was moved and grateful.

Looking back on my emotional rollercoaster ride after I found the banknote in the classroom, I could not help laughing at my folly. It was my money anyway.

When everything was lying on the new dorm floor, I was virtually exhausted, dripping wet. But a sense of accomplishment came over me.

Seeing the candies still in my hand, he seized them and flung them out. I was so paralysed by the vehemence that I shut my eyes. I dared not see his countenance. Meanwhile tears gushed out as I started to howl.

Sam was incredulous. He had thought that the old man and his noble deeds are found only in news reports or on television shows, but this very night he was with such a character in the flesh in the real world.